Stamford co. in stock-for-debt exchange

Updated 7:58 am, Wednesday, September 30, 2015

With the goal of cutting its annual cash interest obligations by $50 million, Affinion Group reached a deal to issue new stock and fresh notes to holders of existing notes coming due in 2018.

Affinion manages customer loyalty programs for corporations, with the privately held Stamford company having filed for an initial public offering of stock in 2010, withdrawing those plans the following year. In the second quarter, Affinion lost $27.6 million on $295 million in revenue, versus a $70.3 million loss in the second quarter of 2014 on sales of $303 million. The company’s liabilities totaled $2.9 billion as of June 30.

Under Affinion’s exchange offer, the company would exchange new common stock for all of its outstanding 13.75 percent/14.5 percent senior secured PIK/toggle notes due 2018; and all of its outstanding 13.5 percent senior subordinated notes due in 2018. Holders of existing notes would receive the right to purchase 7.5 percent cash/PIK senior notes due 2018 and nearly 2.5 million shares of new stock for $110 million in the aggregate.